The Path Of Kings
by Yung Warrior
Summary: By a twist of fate, Adrian Gecko defeats Yubel in their epic duel. Now, Jaden Yuki is the only obstacle preventing Adrian from ruling the universe. Two kings duke it out in a battle that will decide the fate of the twelve dimensions! One-Shot.


**"H…how can this be?"** An ethereal, childish voice screeched, its eerie orange eyes blazing with cold fury.

"Once again, you have underestimated me, Yubel. And now, you have paid the price. The pathway to a new world of light and peace has been paved with your defeat. With the power of Exodia, I will create that new world!" A nasal, supercilious voice cried.

Yubel hissed in pain. The demon, crazed with its twisted visions of love, was currently inhabiting the body of Jesse Anderson. The boy's normally soft, effeminate features were perverted with hatred and sick desires. The possessed boy wore S&M iron shackles and bangles, and the horrifying orange irises he now sported had replaced formerly kind and warm teal ones.

 **"I…cannot….die here!"** It yelled, the creature's essence slowly beginning to fade away into the dark stardust from whence it came. **"Not before I show Jaden the truth of my love!"**

Spectacles gleamed, the expression of Adrian Gecko curled in distaste. Sterling gray eyes were narrowed, his russet hair and cape fluttering in the strong winds. "You'll do nothing of the sort, Yubel." He sniffed. Behind him stood the spirit of the immortal Exodia, the demon god triumphant in victory.

For a moment, Adrian wasn't sure if he could pull it off. He had struggled mightily in the pursuit of his own kingdom, but it now seemed as if the time of rest was drawing near. He had given up everything to reach this point, betrayed everyone who had ever meant anything to him.

All of it would be worth it if he could finally make his dreams a reality.

Exodia disappeared, returning to his deck. Luckily enough, Adrian had managed to activate his Break The Seal trap card, allowing him to add the fifth and final piece of Exodia to his hand, subsequently winning him the match. How close he had been to defeat was unsettling, but it hardly mattered now.

Adrian walked over to the hunched frame of the Yubel-possessed Jesse. He held no ill will for his fellow transfer student, and a small part of him even felt sorry for killing him along with Yubel.

Such sacrifices needed to be made if there was to be any progress.

Yubel was nearly gone, the last vestiges of its spirit returning to the starry beyond. "I **HATE YOU! ONE DAY, JADEN WILL BE MINE ONCE AGAIN! AND WITH OUR COMBINED POWER, YOU WILL FALL!"**

"Such a small worldview. You are so fraught with meaningless emotion that you are willing to kill any man, woman, or child in your way. You have destroyed once-good men, and for what? To be reunited with someone who doesn't even remember your name? How pathetic. Now begone!" Adrian's cold indictment echoed throughout the empty chamber.

Yubel screamed one last time before dying completely, it and Jesse's body disappearing. Adrian stared at the spot on the ground where the demon had vanished, looking at a card that wasn't there before.

Super Polymerization. The power to merge worlds and dimensions with fusion. The card that the Supreme King had been searching after during the entirety of his short rule. The card that killed men and birthed gods. Adrian vowed to destroy it when he could. No one person could be trusted with such a power, not even he, the son of the clouds.

He placed the card in his back pocket before craning his neck to look at the sky. Covered with murky grey clouds before, the sky had now cleared. A dazzling sun shone upon the top of the tower, a clear blue sky reaching into forever.

Maybe it really was all worth it. It would take time, but Adrian was sure that he could rebuild the world in his image. If anyone could do it, he could.

"What happened?" A brash voice sounded behind him, interrupting the beautiful silence. Adrian slowly turned around, his cape blowing about from a sudden gust.

At the other side of the spire was none other than the King of Darkness himself, Jaden Yuki, along with his only two remaining companions, Syrus and Crowler. "Where's Yubel?" Jaden demanded again.

"Dead." Adrian replied impassively. In an instant, Jaden had closed the gap between them, grabbing Adrian by the collar. "You mean Jesse's gone, too!?" He questioned numbly, not wanting to consider the possibility.

"Yes." Adrian said coldly. He was met with a stinging slap from Jaden for his trouble. Syrus and Crowler had now rushed to the distraught boy's side. Jaden was shaking from sadness and hatred as he began swinging wildly at Adrian. The bespectacled duelist avoided his strikes, a tear of guilt ripping through his psyche.

"I'm sorry. I know Jesse meant a lot to you. He was, perhaps, the only true innocent in all of this." Adrian said softly.

Jaden's eyes had transformed from their normally soft brown into a raging, unnatural gold. "You don't care! You killed Aster with no remorse; why should I believe you the least bit sorry about killing my best friend!" Shadowy tendrils curled around Jaden's body, dark power coursing through his veins. Beside him, Syrus' head fell, despondent.

"Yubel needed to be stopped. I was strong enough to do it, and so it was my duty." Adrian responded coldly.

"Don't give me that crap! You're no different from Yubel, you just hide your evil designs behind pretty words! Well, I'm sick of being manipulated! I'm sick of people like you trying to fix what doesn't needs to be fixed!" Jaden roared, the power of the Supreme King overtaking him.

"And what would you do about it? I am now the rightful king of this dimension, and heir to the universe. With my power, even Exodia bows before me!" Adrian laughed, growing drunk on power.

"What am I going to do?" Jaden repeated, an odd grimace on his face. He snatched his duel disk out of Crowler's dainty hands and slammed his deck into the slot. "I'm going to do the only thing I know how to do. I'm going to duel."

Adrian regarded him with a whole new attitude; while he had silently mocked the enraged boy before, he now remembered that this was the Supreme King of Darkness standing before him. A part of him considering turning down the duel. With his new powers, he could certainly have disposed of Jaden, Syrus and Crowler in a different way.

And yet still, no honorable king would turn down an offer to duel.

"A creature of darkness such as yourself has no place in my new kingdom. I am the raincloud that will wash away the stinking filth your rule has covered this land in." Adrian pontificated, activating his own duel disk.

Jaden snarled before briefly glancing at Syrus and Crowler. The harshness of his eyes startled them both. "Get back, both of you. I can't promise I won't hurt you by mistake." He said shortly.

"Jaden, how are you doing that? Your eyes….it's the same as they were before…" Syrus meekly questioned.

"It's just as Bastion said, Syrus. The Supreme King and I are one and the same. That monster that killed Jim and Axel…is me." Jaden said this with the resignation of a far older man. "I have failed completely, and there is no chance of redemption. Still, if there's any hope for the rest of you, I'll fight for it."

Crowler shook his head. _"To think that those words came out of Jaden's mouth…it's tragic, how much he's changed."_

"This shall be my last duel, Jaden." Adrian said solemnly, drawing his cards.

The battle was fierce. The battle was glorious.

Jaden attacked viciously and without remorse, unleashing the full force of the Gentle Darkness upon Adrian.

Elemental Hero Flame Wingman. Elemental Hero Neos. Evil Hero Malicous Edge. Evil Hero Dark Gaia. Jaden brought forth monster after monster, directing everything in his arsenal towards the singular purpose of victory.

Adrian's defenses held up, however, even against the scorching winds of Storm Neos. Jaden truly was the most powerful duelist he had ever faced. Even over the course of this single match, the Slifer Red had come back from the edge of defeat stronger than ever before. It was impossible to tell who was more skilled.

Sometimes skill doesn't decide the outcome of a duel. It was one of the more frustrating aspects of the game; the strongest did not always win the fight.

In this case, victory for Adrian simply meant drawing the right cards. The five pieces of Exodia were gathered, and the ancient demon god was released once again.

How unfair, thought Jaden. How unfair it was that someone who murdered without discretion and threw his lot in with demons would get what he wanted at the end of the day.

But then, could he not say the same thing about himself? Were his sins much different from Adrian's? It was difficult to say.

Exodia loomed behind Adrian, the sealed god charging an amber beam of lights between its gargantuan hands. "This is the end for you, Jaden Yuki. As the lord and master of the twelve dimensions, I hereby banish you to the underworld, where you will join the comrades you have so callously betrayed."

"No! You can't do this!" Syrus shouted, running in front of his longtime friend. Adrian waved his hand, and a telekinetic force shoved him aside like a gnat. Crowler, meanwhile, could only watch, thunderstruck.

Jaden's anger faded away in the face of inexorable defeat. "Jesse…Alexis…Zane…everyone…I'm so sorry…"

"EXODIA! OBLITERATE!" The golden light engulfed Jaden, Syrus, and Crowler, leaving nothing behind but Jaden's duel disk.

Exodia faded out of view, disappearing completely after a few moments. Adrian stumbled before collapsing on the ground, his glasses nearly breaking from the collision.

"At long last, it has ended. Peace…true peace will now become a reality!" Adrian proclaimed, his words echoing into the void.

With the power of Exodia, the uprisings among the twelve dimensions were quelled, and peace was secured.

And Adrian was alone, having no one to share his success with. Was it worth it? Of course, the lack of conflicts, of wars, of death was good, but in its wake came a passionless, joyless existence. A life without feelings.

Forever was going to be a long time.

 **A/N**

 **Greetings, lovely readers, and thank you for reading the story!**

 **Yeah, I hope no one minds the dub names, it's just what I'm more familiar with. Either way, this story is a little darker than my usual fare, but the idea simply needed to put out there in my opinion. I have always thought that this series was a lot deeper than most give it credit for, and so I would hope to explore that depth with fiction such as this.**

 **Adrian is given no attention by the fan community, but I've always thought he was a fascinating character. He was definitely one of the more dynamic characters of the third season. I hope this fiction portrays the consequences of Adrian defeating Yubel accurately. Of course, Adrian winning would not be in the best interests of the universe as a whole, because the Light of Ruin would still be a massive threat.**

 **Thanks again for reading!**


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